Paxton finalizes divorce after ex-wife filed on ‘biblical grounds’: Report

Former GOP Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has reportedly finalized his divorce from his ex-wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), after being married for over 40 years.

His attorney confirmed to The New York Times, which first reported on the conclusion Thursday, the Paxtons agreed upon the terms of the divorce but were keeping them private. The state senator announced her decision to separate from her husband in a July post, citing “biblical grounds.”

“The Paxtons and their respective attorneys, worked diligently to reach an amicable resolution of their divorce,” the state attorney general’s lawyer, Laura Roach, said in a statement to the Times. “From my observation, they share mutual respect for one another and appear to be looking forward to the next chapter of their lives.”

The Hill reached out to Roach and Angela Paxton’s attorney for comment on The Times’s report

Ken Paxton has served as the Lone Star State’s attorney general since 2015. Although the Texas House impeached him in 2023 on corruption charges, he was later acquitted in the state Senate.

Angela Paxton attended her former husband’s impeachment trial at the time and notably did not vote in it. The attorney general at the time had also been accused of taking part in an extramarital affair.

“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” the state lawmaker wrote in the post. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”

In her initial divorce petition, her lawyers said “the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities” between the pair, accusing Ken Paxton of cheating on his wife.

On Thursday, before the Times reported on the divorce’s conclusion, the state senator posted a Bible verse to social platform X, which reads, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. Who have been called according to his purpose.” She did not mention the legal battle or affair allegations.

While the state attorney general was on the campaign trail for outgoing Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) seat, his wife generally avoided weighing in on November’s midterms. Though she did tell a group of conservative women in September to vote Republican “even if we’re mad at them.”

Ken Paxton lost to Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) by over 10 points, according to The Hill’s election results partner, Decision Desk HQ.